NYS Primary and the ’16 Campaign: Are we Witnessing GOP’s Demise, Racism’s Rise, or all of the Above?

The old truism is that elections have consequences, and the 2016 presidential race is clearly shaping up to be the strongest proof of that in recent memory. What’s unclear, beyond the outcome of either tomorrow’s New York State primary or the nominating contest and general election to follow, is exactly what those consequences will be.

For instance, will Donald Trump’s securing the Republican nomination mean a milestone electoral shift to the Democratic party? Or will some of the uglier sentiments that have attached themselves to the real-estate magnate’s campaign enjoy new legitimacy regardless of who wins or loses? Or both?

Last week Gotham Gazette’s Ben Max and I hosted five very smart people—David Birdsell, dean of the school of public affairs at Baruch College; Christina Greer, a political scientist and professor at Fordham University; Steven Romalewski, head of the CUNY mapping service; former Congressman Anthony Weiner, whose wife is an adviser to Hillary Clinton; and Mark Winston-Griffith, executive director of the Brooklyn Movement Center and a Bernie Sanders delegate—to discuss the impact New York’s vote tomorrow might have on the election and the government to follow. A few highlights follow:

“We’re witnessing the destruction of a once-great party.”Weiner says that liberals and Democrats should just sit back and open a cold one as the GOP comes apart at the seams.

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“The history of America is the history of race.”Greer and Griffith discuss the consequences of racism in the 2016 election.

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“The authoritarian impulse nurtures itself on the grievance of loss.”Birdsell gives his take on how New York City will be affected by a new president starting in January 2017.

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“I don’t believe issues like guns animate.”Weiner explains why he thinks issues such as gun control will not be a determining factor in the 2016 election.

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